Author's Note: Big stretch! I wrote a part of this on an airplane. Now I'm back home! Thank goodness…

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Gloria was a bundle of nerves in the taxi the entire way to Glimwood Tangle. She wasn't sure what the plan was, but she was happy to hang out with her beloved nonetheless. She was dropped off at the entrance to the forest at Stow-on-Side. After thanking the driver, she entered the mythical forest, her heart was pounding. It was a bit of a chore, trying to get Rillaboom and Flareon back in their pokeballs, as they didn't want to stop playing. But she managed to make it happen.

Gloria glanced around, dazzled by the soft glow of the mushrooms, "I could visit this area a thousand times and I would never get bored! Now, where could Bede be?"
She kept a careful eye on the path, trying not to stumble. There were sounds of wild Pokemon scampering into the brush as she approached. She didn't see the pair of Ponyta watching her as she stooped to pass a tree branch that was arched over the route.

"Where is he?" Gloria wondered aloud. At that moment, a pokeball of hers popped open. Out came Indeedee, immediately interested in her surroundings.

"Indeedee? What are you…? Oh, I see. This is where I caught you." Gloria realized, "How do you feel being back here again?"

Indeedee looked at her trainer and bowed sweetly. Gloria giggled, "Yes, I know you want to be with me. But it must feel good to see your home again."
Indeedee nodded, and the two continued on side by side.

Gloria thought to herself, "Sheesh, where in the world is he hiding at? Wait, are we meeting somewhere where there's less people?" Her hands began to tremble, "Oh no… my heart's beating faster… I gotta calm down. Deep breaths Gloria, deep breaths!"

"Indeedee!" Exclaimed her Pokemon, catching Gloria's attention, "What is it, Indeedee?"

Indeedee was pointing ahead, Gloria looked and saw Bede resting underneath a glowing, pink mushroom. Her eyes widened, "Oh, there he is!" She quickly smoothed her hair down and adjusted her bangs, "Okay, here we go…"

With an air of confidence, she began approaching Bede. On the inside, her heart was beating so hard she was worried he would hear it. Just as she was about to call out to him, Indeedee had beaten her to it by yelling out. Bede turned to face them, and his eyes lit up.

"Gloria!" He spoke up.

Gloria waved nervously, "Hey, Bede!" She met him in the glowing light, "Uh… hi! How are you doing?"

Bede pushed his hair back, "I'm doing wonderful, naturally. Would you expect any less from me?"

Gloria grinned, "I suppose not."

Bede noticed Indeedee looking up at him with a kind smile. He greeted her, "Hello there. I haven't forgotten you."

"She really likes you a lot, Bede!" Gloria observed.

Bede chuckled, "I'm glad that at least some of your Pokemon have a favorable view of me."

Gloria couldn't help but find that remark humorous, "Oh Bede. I know Rillaboom and Flareon are warming up to you. Slowly but surely! Anyway, how are things?"

"I had a match this morning." He explained, "They won. But I still enjoyed myself."

Gloria replied, "Oh, that's great to know! You've gotten a lot more fans since the Galarian Star Tournament."

Bede was sheepish, "I've noticed."

Gloria noticed his reserve, "You don't have to be so modest. You've really done a great job!"

"Thank you… very much."

After a silent pause, Bede stepped very close to Gloria and put his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder. Gloria immediately returned the gesture, feeling like she could fly. Indeedee watched the two proudly with her hands clasped.

"Why did I have the misfortune of being born in the same time period as you…?"

Bede's words from back then echoed in Gloria's mind,it made her suddenly giggle, catching Bede's attention, "What's so funny?" He asked.

Deciding to spare him of times he'd prefer to forget, Gloria replied, "It's nothing, Bede. I'm just happy to be here with you."

Bede raised an eyebrow, "Hm, I see."

Without warning, the pink light above them glowed even brighter. Both were surprised and they looked up to see a wild Impidimp chortling. Bede crossed his arms, "Ugh, those little pests…"
Gloria was abundantly thankful that the mushroom above them was pink, because otherwise, the blush that had spread all across her face would be on full display. Gloria's Indeedee did not appreciate the interruption and used her psychic abilities to levitate rocks and twigs to chuck them at the little Impidimp. This succeeded in chasing the mischievous Pokemon into the brush. It did so while continuing to chortle.

"Nice one, Indeedee." Gloria thanked her. Indeedee responded with a smile and bow.

Bede chuckled, "How cute."

"She doesn't take kindly to troublemakers." Gloria explained, "She's the 'mom' of my team."

"I can see that." Bede observed.

"She's done the same thing to people." Gloria laughed, "This one time, I had gotten ambushed by a few of those Team Yell goons, and she did the same thing to them. Ahaha! It was hilarious. You should've seen them run! They were stumbling all over each other! I laughed so hard I fell to the ground!"

Bede scoffed, "Ugh, don't even mention them. But… I'm glad to hear Indeedee gave them what for."

"Seriously." Gloria agreed, "Just hearing that name makes me want to throw up and scream. I'm glad they've given up. We're gonna change the subject now, did you want to walk around?"

Bede knew that he would have to get back to the gym soon, but, did he have to, really? It was a slow day after all… Opal would surely handle things, right? The thought of being a little rebellious made him smile slyly. Then again, it's not like he hadn't done anything bad before.

"Sure." He answered.

"Okay! Let's hang out!"

The weather was a bit warmer, but the wind kept things tolerable. Bede couldn't help but sneak a glance at Gloria as he walked beside her. Despite doing this, he couldn't see Gloria trying to steal glances of him.

Simultaneously, the two thought to themselves.

"Should I…?"

"Should I…?"

"Try to hold his hand?"

"Try to hold her hand?"

Both didn't see that they were reaching for each other at the same time. When their hands contacted, they yelped in shock.

Gloria went red from embarrassment, "Ah, Bede! So sorry! I was… uh…"

"It was my mistake." An equally flustered Bede responded, "My apologies…"

Indeedee was following them from behind, silently giggling at their awkwardness. Seconds later, a small round Pokemon covered in fluffy white fur appeared in front of the blushing couple.

"Aww, look!" Gloria pointed out, "It's a Swirlix!"

Bede smiled and lightly chuckled. After the Pokemon continued on it's way, the pair continued their walk through the forest. There was no way that Gloria could just brush off what had occurred a few moments ago. Taking a breath in, she confidently took Bede's hand. This made him gasp lightly.

"I just couldn't leave it like that!" Gloria enthused.

Bede tried to keep composed, but he couldn't resist the urge to grin, "You… I…" He squeezed her hand tightly.

Gloria giggled, "What's this? Is this Bede at a loss for words? Wow! Didn't think that would happen!"

A now playful Bede retorted, "Absolutely not! You may have the upper hand in battles, but not here!"
Without warning, he grabbed her by the shoulders to make her face him, he then placed a daring kiss right on her lips. Gloria's eyes widened in shock.
Once he parted from her, both of them were stunned and blushing. Bede's heart was racing as he thought to himself, "I can't believe I just did that. What is she thinking now!? Is she mad? Oh no…"

Gloria chuckled and replied with three words, "You need practice."

After a moment of shock, Bede crossed his arms, "I… guess." Truth be told, he was bursting with joy.

"But… not bad for a start." She winked. Before pulling him in for another kiss. Once it was done, Bede's rotom phone binged, signaling a message. An understanding Gloria gave him the okay to answer it, and he saw it was a message from Opal. The message read,

You just take your time, child. ; )

We've got everything taken care of here.

Give my warm regards to Gloria

Bede's face reddened reading the message, but he was thankful to Opal nonetheless. But how did she message him at that exact moment? It was like she could somehow see them. That thought made his stomach twist from embarrassment. Gloria asked, "Is everything okay?"

Bede answered, "Yes, it is. Opal said hi."

Gloria smiled, "I see! Well, you can let her know I said hi too!"

He put his phone away, "I'll do that later." Before putting his arm around Gloria. Gloria returned the gesture and the two walked further. Bede had a question, "Um… how's Hop?"

"He's at home. He's fine!" Gloria assured. The quick answer made Bede think she was likely waiting for that question.

"What happened with… her?"

Gloria's tone became nonchalant, "Eh, don't know. Hop said she ranted for a bit before leaving."

Bede became nervous, "That's… quite unnerving."

Gloria shrugged it off, "If she comes after us again, we'll just defeat her again! No problem!"

"You're so carefree…" Bede shook his head. He then muttered, "I'lll have to thank Hop…"

This snagged Gloria's attention like a trap, "What was that?"

"N-Nothing! I didn't say anything!" Bede tried to cover it up, but there was no getting past Gloria. She insisted, "No, no, no! You say that again!"

Bede took a deep breath, before complying in a forceful manner, "I'll have to thank Hop!"

Gloria grinned, "Ah! That makes me so happy to hear that!"

Bede face-palmed from embarrassment. Gloria decided she needed to reward him, "You get another kiss!" She teased before bouncing on her toes to plant one right on his cheek. After freezing for a moment, he cleared his throat, "That's appreciated…"

The two continued onward, with beautiflies in their stomachs.

After an hour of work, Hop and Sonia decided to take a little break to have an early lunch. Once they arrived in Motostoke, they immediately made their way to the Café.

"I'm so excited for those two." Sonia enthused.

Hop nodded, "Same here, honestly, I'm still kind of in shock. I would've never guessed that my old mate would've fallen for Bede. Ha! What a plot twist! What a couple they'll make, I'm sure!"

Sonia smiled, "You're a good friend, Hop. Gloria's lucky to have your support."

"Aw shucks, Sonia." Hop grinned, "You know I'll always be there for her! Even if she's… a little odd!"

Sonia chuckled, "You're one to talk about being odd, Hop…"

"H-Hey! Cut that out!" A flustered Hop objected, "W-We aren't talking about me here! Hehehe…."

"I know Hop. I'm just having a bit of fun with you." She turned to the horizon, "I truly hope she's happy. She was quite frazzled about it this whole time."

"I know that now." Hop replied, "She told me all about it. Agh… I feel so bad that she felt like she had to hide that from me…"

Sonia comforted him, "Hop… it's okay. At least, things worked out for everyone, right?"

Hop brightened up, "Yeah, that's right!"

Sonia's tone turned playful, "Have you ever thought about finding a special someone for yourself, Hop?"

Hop's eyes widened, "Hah!? Me!? Heh.. wasn't expecting that! Uh… to be honest. I've been… hoping to find someone. Heheh… I'm not sure where I'll find her, but someday!"

"Aww, that's so sweet Hop!"

"Ahaha! Zip it, Sonia!" Hop put a hand on his head, "Anyway, let's hurry up and get to the café, I'm starving here!"

The two shared a laugh, walking down the path.